Using social media is not about selling eBooks. It is about reaching customers and building stronger relationships. [Booksellers Association Book Industry Conference 2010]
Be yourself.
People have relationships with people and not bookstores. Create profiles that are true pictures of what you do and who you are. The more open you are about your interests and passions the more people will connect with you. When people visit your bookstore, the most important thing in it is you or your colleagues. Most bookselling is about people and books are social. The more open you are about what you do, the more people will join up and stay with you. Remember that the large retailers cannot be human, they’re designed from the bottom up to avoid it.
There’s no one stop solution.
Social media is about using a range of tools and not one tool. Find what works for you. That might be Facebook (which is great for events, for interest groups, for building networks), it might be Twitter which is about nattering, it might be YouTube: videos can be powerful ways of reaching people. Don’t forget Flickr — upload snaps of everything you do. Use all of them and find out what suits your business.
We live in a visual world.
Don’t forget to use imagery in all you do. How your bookstore looks, what customers look like, showing events in pictures is an important part of sharing and belonging to something. You’re building a community and communities have to see each other. Take lots of pictures and even film your events. It’s easy. Grab images of authors, books, signings, audiences, places (especially local interest spots). Show new displays, new decor, even create visual backstories.
Join everything up.
Link your online efforts together. If you have a Website (and you should), then put links to your Twitter stream, Facebook page and your blog. Use links in your tweets to take people to the right place on your site — that might be the page to book an event, to buy a book, to discover more about a genre, or your specialties or other services you offer. Keep your expertise and your bookstore center stage. Show people what you do.
Think of having more than one profile.
You might have a profile for children’s events, one for local history, one for adult events, and so on. You can have fun with different personas, or use them to deal with different customers. Remember that social media has a personality, too. Audiences behave differently with each form of social media as well, so use the right approach. Twitter is conversational and chatty. Facebook is more considered.
Ask questions.
Social media is about conversations, it’s not about pushing information out, but drawing information in. So ask open questions and get people involved in your bookselling life. Ask about what people like, what they want for the holidays, what events they’d like to see. The more you know about your customers, the more you can make your business relevant to them. Let your customers feel they have a stake in your shop, that they belong and that they contribute. Thank people for their feedback. Give presents.
Run competitions and surveys.
Use social media to run a competition and have regular giveaways. But folk have to come into the bookstore to pick up their prizes. Let every respondent to a competition have a coupon code to give them an extra discount when buying their next book in the shop. Coupon codes are great ways to get people buying. There are some great survey tools, too. You can use these creatively to find out more about what people want.
No hard selling but be clear that you’re there to make a living.
Hold an advice session every Friday on Twitter. Work with your specialties and niches. Talk about what you know. Talk regularly, but not too frequently. Play to your strengths. For many people it’s about having company and sharing experiences. Be interested in other people’s interests and work with them to give them what they want. Social media is all about the conversation and building relationships that can be developed in the physical world.
Just like everyone else in the world, you have to make a living and the best way to do that is to be there for people when they need you, and to play a part in their lives (bookstores matter to communities and communities don’t want to lose their bookstores, and you can ask for support). You’re not always flogging your wares, but you want to let people know, subtly, that you’re not a charity shop and you’re there to run a business. But the most important thing is to have some fun along the way.
Also, remember that no one buys from Amazon because they’re a good laugh or nice to be with. Independent booksellers can’t compete on price and discounts… so compete on being human.
Remember, like the real world, it’s about putting in the hours. Don’t despair if people don’t join you in floods. Keep testing out ideas and remember that everyone gets bored at some point, so mix things up. Change tone or change tack. Talk about the stock room. Talk about slow days and about busy days. Be positive. Everyone buys into optimism and enthusiasm. Keep going. Get excited about things. Use humor in what you write. Above all, find the right time to reach people. It all takes time, but it really is worth it.
Remember that the Web is passive and social media makes it active. Using social media helps you reach a wider audience, so make sure you have a distinctive, informative and search-friendly Website.